


Trippy Thursday

by CaraBeatriceGreen



Category: Freaky Friday (2003), Onward (2020)
Genre: Angst, Family Drama, Funny, Gen, Magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:48:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23272723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaraBeatriceGreen/pseuds/CaraBeatriceGreen
Summary: Our two heroes from Onward are back! Ian and Barley are both very different, despite being brothers. When a hurtful argument ensues between them, the wizard staff sends them on a new and perilous quest: a day in each others bodies! But if they don't work together and find a counterspell, a day could become...forever!
Comments: 14
Kudos: 55





	1. Brothers: Can't Live With Them...

**This story is dedicated to my little sister.**

**Syd-syd, if you ever read this, thanks for always being there for me.**

**Your kindness, patience, and love have made me who I am today.**

**Chapter One**

**Brothers: Can't Live With Them...**

"Ian, your friends are here for study group!" Laurel called up to her youngest son.

"Be right down, Mom!" the 16 year-old elf replied. It had been three months since the Lightfoot Brothers' adventure and things were looking up for Ian. He had become less introverted, he was getting out more, and he was getting better everyday at mastering the art of magic. His adventure proved that he had an inner warrior. Or was it a wizard.

Ian met his friends downstairs and they greeted each other with high fives and grins.

"Come on in guys." He led them into the living room. The four of them sat in there favorite spots. Sadalia and Althea on the sofa, Parthenope on the beanbag chair, and Ian took the living chair. They took out their English textbooks and began going over information they were told would be on their exam tomorrow. It was going pretty well until...

"Greetings, Iandore and his companions!" Ian's eyes widened in horror at his older brother's voice. All he could do at that moment, was run all possible embarrassing scenarios through his head. There were practically an infinite amount. Snapping back to the present, Ian quickly sneaked to the kitchen.

"Mom!" he half yelled, half whispered. "What is Barley doing home this early? You said he wouldn't be back til dark!"

"Oh I don't know, honey." Laurel said as she stirred the potato soup they were having for dinner. "He probably finished his errands early so he could come home and spend time with you. You know he's going to Quest Con tomorrow. And he'll be gone all day." Ian looked over and saw Barley showing his friends the Quests of Yore board game he was obsessed with. He was going over the entire game despite how long and tedious the rules were. The looks on their faces showed extreme boredom.

"Can't you just...send him to his room or something?" Ian begged.

"Ian, Barley is an adult." Laurel glanced at her eldest and noticed him acting out a knight battling a dragon. He was playing both parts. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Even though he may not act like it sometimes." Turning her attention back to Ian, she put her hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Sure he's got his quirks, but he is the big brother. And that's something that will never change."

"But, Mom, we need to study for the big exam tomorrow. We could talk about Quests of Yore some other time."

"Honey, Barley loves you. And he's going to college next year. You need to spend time with him while you have the chance."

"I guess so." Ian sighed in defeat. As he turned around, he was startled to see Parthenope standing right in front of him.

"Hey, Iandore?" Ian shook his head.

"Parthenope, that's not my real name. It's just a nickname my brother gave me. Please, just call me Ian."

"Um, ok, Ian. Sorry to bug you, but we better get going. It's 7:30, and I still gotta help my dad organize his study when I get home." Ian glanced at his smart watch.

"Wow you're right. How'd it get so late?"

"Well, see you at school tomorrow." His friends said their goodbyes and left. Ian knew why they really wanted to leave. Sure, it was getting late but, they usually stayed until 8:00. No, this was Barley's fault.

(o_o)

"What do mean, 'my fault'?" Barley asked defensively.

"I mean, if you hadn't come home early to give my friends a lecture on Quests of Bore,"

"It's Quests of Yore, and I just thought if I could get them interested, you would be interested."

"You still think I would ever play that stupid game with you? Is that all you care about?" Barley sighed and took a seat.

"Of course not, Ian. Look, I just want to spend time with you."

"We already went on a quest together, what more do you want?"

"I want to know you. So when I go to college, I'll always remember what you were like."

"Well who could forget you, Barley?"

"I don't think I like the way you said that." Barley said, confused. But Ian didn't hear him.

"You can go wherever you want, do whatever you want, you spend all your money and time on things that don't matter. If I were you, man, I'd have no expectations except passing the college entry exam! That would be so much easier than what I've got going on right now."

"Wait a minute," Barley said standing up. "You seriously think it's easy being me?"

"I know it is, Barley! You've got it made."

"Well, I happen to know that you're the one who has it easy." Barley countered.

"Oh, really?" Ian glared, nodding mockingly.

"Yeah, I do." his brother glared and nodded back.

"How so?" Barley and Ian began closing the space between them.

"Well, for one you can control magic."

"I knew it! Your so jealous!"

"Oh so, wishing that I can control magic like my brother is me being jealous?"

"Yes, Barley. That is a prime example of jealousy."

"Well, you're still a sophomore in high school. That's not as hard as being an adult with a job!"

"I'm taking college courses this year, so yes, it is. Besides, you work at the comic book store as a sales rep! How hard can that be?" As they continued to bicker, the wizard staff began to spark. But, they were so engrossed in their argument they didn't notice.

"I'm supposed to be the big brother! You're supposed to respect me!"

"Oh yeah? Well sometimes I wish we weren't brothers at all!" Suddenly, what looked like blue mist began to fill Ian's bedroom. It surrounded the elves, grabbing their attention.

"What's happening?" Ian gasped with fear.

"I...I don't know." Barley stated trying not to show that he was just as afraid. The mist started to swirl, around them, faster and faster.

"Holy emeralds! Look at your hands! Ian pointed. Barley looked and immediately lost his cool at that point.

"Their turning to dust! Oh no. Ian, your ears!" Ian reached up and felt his ears were also quickly dusting away. Soon the boys were both nothing but dust clouds. Then, like they saw with their father's spell, their dust began to reform them. Feet, legs, torsos, arms, heads, faces. But when they opened their eyes they were shocked at what they saw.

"Why do you look like me? Ian gasped. "And why do I sound like you?"

"Ian, is that you?" The Ian in front of him asked. Then a look of confusion crossed his face. "Did my voice just crack?"

"Barley?"

"Yeah? Erm, I mean, yeah? What the heck is wrong with my voice? Why do I sound like I just hit puberty?"

"You didn't. I...did." The two rushed to the mirror.

"Oh no!"

"Holy emeralds! Barley! We've...we've...

"We've switched bodies!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**Oh Brother!**

The elf brothers stood there in silence. It didn’t last long, as they began to examine themselves.

“Man, Barley, you need to lay off the Cheese Puffs!” Ian said as he looked over his now bulky figure.

“Not fair!” Barley whined in defense. “They’re my favorite snack. Besides, I’ve always been big-boned. Why is it now you decide to criticize my body?”

“Because now it’s _my_ body! And I’m telling you right now, you better not stress-eat in yours!”

“Low blow, Ian! You know I don’t deal with stress very well. It’s how I’ve always coped and old habits are hard to break.” Barley then looked at himself. “Besides, you’re as skinny as a toothpick! You can stand to gain a few pounds.”

“Don’t you dare!” Ian pointed a chubby finger at his now little brother.

“Fine. But we gotta tell Mom.” Barley began walking toward the stairs.

“Oh no you don’t!” Ian quickly rushed to block him. “We’re not telling Mom! In fact, we’re not telling anyone!”

“But, Ian,” Barley tried to get past, but thanks to Ian and his sizes being switched, it was a futile effort. “Ian, what if she can help?”

“She can’t. Don’t you see? This is a magic problem. Something must have happened with the wizard staff.” They both went and sat on the bed. “Barley, what are we going to do?” Ian asked.

“You’re asking _me_ for advice?” Barley replied, puzzled.

“Well, yeah. Just cause I can do magic, doesn’t mean I know it. At least not like you.”

“Then,” Barley began, rising to his feet. “We better get started on a counter spell.” he got out a piece of paper and a pencil out of Ian’s desk.

“Wait a minute, you mean we’re going to have write our own spell?”

“Yep.”

“Isn’t there a spell in Quests of Yore we can use?”

“Nope.”

“How long is this going to take? I have an English exam tomorrow.” Ian remembered.

“Yeah, and I have Quest Con, but writing a new spell isn’t easy. It takes time, and you have to be careful how you word it. If you don’t, the spell can go horribly wrong.”

“Like, how?” Barley turned around to face Ian.

“Remember when you shrunk me?”

“Yeah, and I apologized.

“Not the point.” Barley sighed. “It happened because the spell wasn’t executed correctly.”

“So?”

“So, that was a spell that was already created and look what happened when it wasn’t done right. Unknown Magic is seriously powerful stuff. You have no room for errors or mistakes. There can be serious repercussions for messing with Unknown Magic.” As he said this, he lay down some of his game cards on the desk and motioned for Ian to come closer. “All the magic you’ve learned so far, have been spells that were already written.” he said. Ian looked at the cards and noticed they were all the spells he was familiar with.

“So what happens when you create a new spell?” he asked.

“Well, there are rules you have to follow when writing Unknown Magic. One is, it has to benefit the mage.”

“Easy.” Ian smirked. Barley shook his head.

“No, it’s not. ‘Cause Rule Two is, although it can be used to damage objects, you can’t use magic to hurt your companions. Rule Three: When writing a counter spell, you have to go on a magic cleanse. Which means...”

“I can’t use magic until we break the spell?” Barley nodded.

*<(o_o)>

The Lightfoot brothers quickly got to work. They reviewed Barley’s game card deck, they studied Quests of Yore’s Magic handbook, and then began trying to write a new spell. They figured rhyming was a good place to start. Ian found the thesaurus on his bookshelf and was looking over possible words to say in the incantation, when Barley found a particular card he thought might come in handy. It wasn’t one he used in his campaigns, because he didn’t quite understand how it worked. But something told him that now was the time to find out.

“Hey, Ian, come take a look at this!” he called, excitedly.

“You wrote the counter spell already?”

“Well, no.”

“Then you found a spell that can fix this mess?”

“Sorta.”

“What do you mean ‘sorta’? You don’t sound very sure about it.”

“Will you just get over here!” Barley said raising his voice.

“Ian? Is everything ok?” Laurel called from downstairs.

“Yeah, Mom.” Ian replied on instinct.

“Barley, I wasn’t asking _you_!” Their mom replied in a firm tone.

“Ian, what are you doing?” Barley whispered.

“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

“Remember, we’re not exactly ourselves at the moment. Until we break the spell, we gotta pretend to be each other.”

“What?” replied Ian, clearly not liking that idea.

“Just watch me.” Barley said with a wink. “Uh, yeah, Mom. Barley and I are just playing Quests of Yore.” he called down to Laurel, cracking his voice exaggeratedly.

“Barley! I do _not_ sound like that. And we are not playing Quests of Yore!” Ian whispered, annoyed.

“Look, just play along, alright? You didn’t want to tell Mom, so we can’t let on about what happened. We gotta lie low.”

“Fine.” Ian sighed in defeat.“Yeah, he’s beating me pretty bad!” he said loudly and dramatically. Barley shot him a look and Ian just smirked and shrugged.

“Oh, my two boys are finally spending quality time with each other! Alright have fun.”

“We will.” the brothers said together and shut the door then sighed.

“That was close.” Ian stated, standing pressed against the door then sliding down to the carpet. “Now what is it you wanted to show me?” Barley smiled then held up a card.

“It’s the only spell we can do right now. It’s called the Wisdom Spell.”

<(o_o)>

“So we just ask it a question, like a smartphone?” Ian asked, holding the staff and standing in the center of the room.

“I think so?” Barley replied, studying the card in his hands.

“You think or you know?”

“Just do the spell.” the now little brother said, without even looking up.

“Fine.” Ian took a deep breath and began reciting the spell. “ **Oh Great Staff That I Bring On This Quest, Grant Me Your Wisdom, So That I May Pass This Test!”** Nothing happened.

“Here, your holding it wrong.” Barley went to grab the staff, but Ian anticipated this and held it out of reach.

“No way are we doing that again!” he said.

“Aw C'mon, Ian. Just let me help you.” Barley whined. Then a moment of clarity washed over his face. “Wait a sec. What if we have to do it together?” he asked, looking up at his brother. Ian just raised an eyebrow, clearly oblivious. “Let’s try doing the spell together. You have the gift but I have your body. That’s why the spell didn’t work.” Ian thought for minute, then made a decision to trust Barley.

“Ok. Let’s do it.” Both elves grabbed the staff and recited the spell. “ **Oh Great Staff That I Bring On This Quest, Grant Me Your Wisdom, So That I May Pass This Test!”** The staff took on a purple glow. “Holy emeralds, it’s working!” Ian exclaimed.

“Told you so.” Barley said with a smirk. Suddenly a voice spoke from the staff, startling the brothers.

“Oh mighty wizard and warrior, what questions hast thou to ask thee.” said a deep masculine voice.

“Let’s just be direct. No dramatic stuff.” said Ian. But it was too late.

“Oh great wizard staff, what spell hast thou cast on my brother and I?” The now big brother face palmed. But the staff spoke again.

“ **A Quest Thou Will Take In Each Others Shoes, To Learn How The Other Live.** **When Thou** **Hast Given That Thou Hast Not,** **The Quest Will End As Thou Hast Sought.”** The purple light on the staff dimmed, then went out completely.

“So what did it mean?” Ian asked, looking to Barley for insight.

“Well, I think the ‘quest in each others shoes’ part, that was the switch. And ‘the quest will end as thou hast sought’ that’s when we switch back. But I don’t understand the middle part.” Barley said, scratching his now bare chin.

“Barley, cut it out! You’re going to give me acne!”

“Sorry.” he shrugged, dropping his hand to his side. Ian thought for a moment.

“I think we have to give something we don’t have to each other; but what?”

“Well, we’ll have to figure it out tomorrow.” Barley said hopping onto Ian’s bed.

“Oh no. No no no no no. I’m not sleeping in your smelly room!” Ian protested.

“What choice do we have? We can’t let anyone find out, remember? If Mom finds _Ian_ in _my_ room, she’s going to suspect something.” He shook his head then lay down, pulling the comforter over his slender form. “We gotta lie low. So, I’ll take your exam and you’ll go to Quest Con. After that we’ll figure out what the staff wants us to give each other, ok?”

“No! Not, Ok! I can’t be _you_! And there’s no way I’m letting you go into _my_ high school as me!”

“Good night, Ian.” Barley yawned, already half asleep.

“No! Barley, wake up! I didn’t agree to this! We’re not finished!” But his brother was already fast asleep, snoring rather obnoxiously. Ian stomped to the stairwell, then glanced back. Barley was drooling on his pillow, and as if on cue, he turned over to face the wall. Then a skinny arm reached from that side and scratched at his crack. Ian stuck his tongue out and winced in disgust before continuing his descent. He marched heavy-footedly down the stairs and to Barley’s room on the first floor. Laurel saw her eldest slam the door to his room from her spot on the sofa, leaving her to worry.

**Second chapter yo! Hope you enjoy! Remember to Read, Review, Follow and Favorite!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**Goodnight Brother**

**(Ian’s POV)**

Sleeping in his brother’s room was no picnic for Ian. For one, it was a pigsty! Open bags of junk food, piles of sweaty clothes, Quests of Yore cards and figurines, and an old, greasy pizza box littered the floor. And the smell, well it was like a mixture between a men’s locker room and a dumpster. Ian gagged upon entering the mess. It was nothing like his room, which was always well organized and pristine clean. Barley had once accused him of being a ‘neat freak with supreme OCD issues’ but that was better than how his big brother lived. He couldn’t understand how anyone could live in a room that looked like something off of Extreme Hoarders. He went to climb into the bed, when he noticed the comforter. Ian barely held back a gag when he discovered the missing pizza.

“There’s no way I can sleep in a room like this.” He said to himself. So he got to cleaning, picking up stale Cheese Puffs, the old greasy pizza, and other trash and putting in a huge clean scented garbage bag. He sorted Barley’s clothes folding and putting away the clean ones then, separating the dirty ones into their own respective piles so they would be ready to wash tomorrow. He noticed how much he was sweating and made the mistake of smelling his armpit.

“Whew!” Ian made a face. “Barley, you smell almost as bad as your sweat- stained underwear! Man, time to hit the showers.” He walked to the bathroom connected to the bedroom and quickly discovered that it also was disgusting. So, he did what any neat freak would do; he cleaned it. After finally getting out of the steamy shower, Ian thought about shaving off the scruff on Barley’s face, but quickly dismissed the idea. He knew his brother would throw a fit and possibly blow their secret if he did. Unfortunately, he didn’t finish his cleaning frenzy until almost 3:AM. After everything that had happened that day, he was exhausted to his core. He threw on a clean t-shirt and boxers and flopped on the bed. The mattress squeaked, sinking to the floor do to his heavy weight. Ian made a mental note to tell Barley that he needed to go on a diet. He let out an annoyed sigh and turned out the lamp on the side table next to the bed. He was so ready to have everything back to normal, and was especially frustrated about having to go to his brother’s stupid nerd convention tomorrow. But despite his mood, Ian soon drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

(Barley’s POV)

Although he didn’t have to go on a cleaning frenzy, Barley’s night wasn’t any better than Ian’s. He tossed and turned, sweat trickling down his face.

“No!” he cried “I’m not a screw-up!” His brows furrowed and his ears drooped as he slipped further and further into a terrible nightmare...

<(o_o)>

He was standing at the old fountain, trying to convince the people of New Mushroomton to make it a historical landmark. He was also back in his own body and everything seemed normal until...

“Hey look!” exclaimed someone from the crowd. “It’s the town screw-up!” He turned to see one of Ian’s friends pointing straight at him. She laughed and nudged Ian. “Man, your brother is a total loser!” Then his little brother spoke up, but to his dismay, it wasn’t in his defense.

“Yeah, I can hardly believe we’re related.” He told her. “I’m the mature one. I’m probably more of a big brother than he is.”

“Hey, show me some respect!” Barley hopped off the fountain and strode toward Ian.

“What are you gonna do about it? Your fat, stupid, and you can’t even do magic! Your only plus is your brute strength.” Ian laughed, then to Barley’s surprise, began growing!

“What’s going on?” Barley asked. He quickly covered his mouth. His voice sounded as if he had just sucked helium out of a balloon. Then he realized; Ian wasn’t growing, he was shrinking! He finally stopped when he was the same size he was during the battle with the Pixie Dusters.

“Oh looks like brute strength isn’t an issue anymore.” laughed Ian. “Come on gang, lets go spend time with someone who actually matters.” Barley hung his head as they walked off, a tear slipping down his cheek.

“Barley, Barley, Barley,” A voice startled him. He turned around to see his mom’s boyfriend.

“Officer Bronco?” He squeaked. Colt shook his head in disapproval.

“You’ll never amount to anything, you know? Once a screw-up; always a screw-up!” Suddenly the crowd began to shout in a sing-song chant.

“Barley’s a screw-up! Barley’s a screw-up!..”

“No! I’m not a screw-up!” he yelled.

“So Long, Sir Screw-up!” Colt said raising a hoof above Barley’s tiny form.

“No!” he screamed. He tried to run, but his legs wouldn’t move. The crowd continued to chant as Colt’s hoof came closer and closer. “No! Ian, help!” Barley cried. But it was as if Ian couldn’t hear his squeaky voice. Either that, or he didn’t care. The giant hoof closed in on the shrunken elf. Barley braced himself, squinting his eyes and covering his head...

<(o_o)>

Barley awoke in cold sweat.

“It was just a dream?” he asked himself. Startled by his own voice, he suddenly remembered the switch. “Ugh! When is this gonna be over, already?” He lay back in Ian’s bed, flipped on his side, and tried to fall back asleep, hoping not to have another nightmare. But the bad dream wouldn’t leave his troubled mind. Barley tried, but he couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down his cheeks. “I’m not a screw-up.” he said to himself, as if saying those words would make him feel better. But the longer he lay there, the more Barley contemplated if he really was the screw-up everyone thought him to be. After all, Ian seemed to think it was true. And Ian was his brother.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**Little Brother**

The next morning, both brothers were busy preparing to tackle Thursday as each other. When they finished, they met downstairs, took one look at each others clothing and completely freaked.

“There’s no way in the realm you’re going to my school dressed like that!” Ian yelled at Barley, as he gestured to his fashion choice. The now little brother was wearing ripped jeans and a rock tee he bought for his younger brother that had never been worn. In fact, when Barley discovered the shirt in the far back of Ian’s closet, it still had the tag on it. “I don’t even like AC/DC. And take off that smelly old vest!” Of course he was referring to the blue jean vest that his brother wore on a daily basis. And since they switched bodies, it looked like the thing would swallow up the slender elf.

“Very well. Then ye shalt not wear civilian clothes to Quest Con.” Barley told him in an over dramatic voice. Ian was wearing a plain heather-gray t-shirt, a pair of faded jeans, and a green, white, and gray plaid shirt that wouldn’t button; no matter how much he fidgeted with it.

“Don’t ever use my mouth to talk like that again. EVER!” Ian countered, then sighed in defeat. “I’ll wear your stupid costume. But that means you’re going to wear Dad’s sweatshirt and my skinny jeans instead of,” He grimaced at the rocker outfit. “Whatever that is. Got it?”

“Fine.” said Barley, crossing his arms.

“Fine.” said Ian, putting his hands on his hips.

“Fine!” They both said to each other as they turned around and headed back to change clothes.

<(o_o)>

“How’d you sleep, Barley? I heard you up vacuuming your room in the middle of the night. Even saw you take out the trash.” Ian’s eyes visibly widened as his mother sat a tall stack of pancakes loaded with syrup in front of him. “Something you want to tell me?” Beads of sweat dotted the elf’s forehead. He removed the viking helmet and ran his fingers through his straight, blue hair before placing it back on his head. He began twiddling his thumbs until he noticed his brother in front of him. ‘Lie low’ Barley mouthed and motioned with his eyes toward their mother. She glanced at him and he just gave a smile before shoving a spoonful of cereal in his mouth. Ian finally spoke up.

“It’s just that you clean my room all the time, mom, I thought I’d give you a break and clean it myself for once.” Barley then raised his eyebrow and mouthed ‘You what?’.

“Well that’s so unlike you.” Laurel smiled then patted Ian’s hand. However, the interrogation wasn’t over yet. “So Ian, did you remember to study for your test?” she asked. This caught Barley off-guard for a second but he quickly recovered.

“Sorry, but I fell asleep last night before I could get the chance.” he replied not even attempting to lie. Barley wasn’t very good at lying and knew his mother would find out if he tried.

“I see. Then you better let Barley drive you to school so you have time to look over your textbook, Ian.” She was staring at him and it felt like she could see right through.

“Fine by me.” he replied

“Yep, let’s go.” Ian said quickly and grabbed the keys. He knew he and Barley had to get away from their mother as soon as possible. Both boys raced out the door of the kitchen and hopped into Guinevere II.

“You think Mom knows?” the elf in cosplay asked his brother.

“I don’t know,” Barley said, putting on his seat-belt and looking over his shoulder at his blind spot. He started up the van and once he had backed out of the driveway, he switched on the radio. ‘Don’t Stop Believen’ by Journey began playing through Guinevere II’s new speakers. It just so happened, it was one of the only songs the brothers both liked. So, because of that very fact, they both started singing. For awhile they forgot about the predicament they were in and just enjoyed the ride to Ian’s school.  
But once they got there, Barley got out of the driver’s seat and Ian switched over.

“You got this, right?” Ian asked, hopeful that his brother wouldn’t blow it with his new friends. He rolled down the window and looked down at Barley.

“Trust me.” He gave the now older brother a thumbs up. “I know what I’m doing.”

<(o_o)>

“I don’t know what I’m doing!” Barley mentally yelled at himself. He may have graduated high school last year but this was different material. The English exam was mainly about a Shakespeare play called The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Which was not a part of history he knew much about. The Roman empire wasn’t interesting to him, say for it’s mythology. He wish it was Macbeth, or Hamlet. Heck, even Romeo and Juliet would have been more up his alley. But it just had to be something he knew nothing about. But he had to try. Barley knew it was unlike Ian to get bad grades. Oh Ian was going to kill him if he flunked this test!

“Something wrong, Mr. Lightfoot?” the teacher asked, noticing that Barley was struggling with the exam.

“Uh, yeah can I go to the bathroom?” The teacher looked at her watch.

“Perhaps after the test.” she replied. “You still have five minutes left.”

“Please, Teach, I really need to go.” Barley lied.

“Is that so, Mr. Lightfoot?” the teacher replied, obviously insulted from being called ‘Teach’. She saw right through Barley’s lie. “You didn’t study last night did you?”

“Uh...well...you see...” the usually confident elf was suddenly very nervous. And stuttering didn’t help the situation.

“Perhaps you can at least enlighten me on who it was that betrayed Caesar?”

“Uh, Alexander the Great?”

“WRONG!” The teacher yelled directly in Barley’s face. “The answer is Cassius. I would have accepted Brutus as well.”

“That’s what I meant to say.”

“You mean, it’s what you should have said. Detention, Mr. Lightfoot.” At that point, Barley’s stomach began to flip-flop and he turned pale to the point of looking chalky white.

“Um, Teach? Can I go to the...?” Before he could finish his sentence, the slender elf tossed his breakfast to the side of the desk. Right in front of the whole class.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Big Brother

  
(Ian’s POV)

Ian pulled up into the parking lot of the New Mushroomton Convention Center. Barley had written down in his bold handwriting specific instructions of where to go and what to do. Once school let out Ian would leave the Con and go pick up his brother, so they could try to figure out how to break the spell.

“Hmm,” Ian thought out loud. “Barley told me to pick up his reserved parking pass at entrance booth C.” He then spotted said booth on the far side of the lot. As the elf drove up, he noticed a bored cyclops managing it.

“What’s the name used to purchase your parking pass?” she asked in a monotonic voice.

“Should be under ‘Barley Lightfoot’?” Ian said nervously.

“Lightfoot...Lightfoot...ah, here it is.” She handed him the pass and he put it in the corner of the inside of the windshield. “Your parking space is 37. Thank you, and have a magical day at Quest Con.” said the cyclops faking a smile to go with her meaningless ‘thank you’.

“Whatever you say, Gladys” Ian replied, trying to be thoughtful and call the cyclops by her name on the tag she wore.

“My pleasure, Mr. Lightfoot.” she said, looking away and waiting for Ian to leave.

“Right.” he caught on quick and went through the gate to find his parking space.

<(o_o)>

Walking up to the center, Ian soon discovered how big it really was. The place was huge! How was he going to find his way around? Little alone, find the booth to pick up Barley’s ‘Thursday Only’ badge? Luckily, there seemed to be a map at the entrance. He walked up and found the room he was looking for was just down the hall. Everywhere he looked, there were creatures dressed in costumes. It was as if Ian had been transported into a real life version of his brother’s game.

“Okay, let’s just get this over with.” he said to himself, as he synchronized his smart watch so it would ding once it was time to leave and pick up Barley. “I only hope Barley can keep himself out of trouble until then.” he pushed the thought of his brother ruining his social status to the back of his mind.

<(o_o)>

(Barley’s POV)

Barley sat in a desk in the classroom that was hosting detention that day. Even though he was used to getting in trouble with authority, he knew Ian wasn’t. How was he going to tell his brother that he failed him? That he flunked the exam? And possibly ruined his reputation of being one of the ‘good kids’? Oh, Ian was going to kill him! Which wouldn’t be too hard, seeing how he currently was the ‘big’ brother; in age, size, and strength. Yep, he was as good as dead. Barley was startled back to reality when, the teacher hosting detention, slammed a packet as thick as a notebook on the desk in front of him.  
“Mr. Lightfoot,” the teacher shook his head. “I never thought I’d see you in here. To say I’m disappointed is an understatement.” He walked past and continued passing out packets. Barley shamefully looked away and opened up the math packet in front of him. As he began writing in his answers, he overheard some creatures talking behind him.

“Guess that screw-up of a brother finally wore off on him.” Laughter followed that comment. Barley was about to turn around and say something, when he decided against it. He’d gotten Ian in enough trouble already. To further his prove his decision, the teacher spoke up.

“No talking during detention!” At that Barley returned his attention to the math, wishing this nightmare would end already.

<(o_o)>

(Ian’s POV)

“Here is your badge and your ID. Enjoy the con.” said the volunteer to Ian. He took back Barley’s driver’s license and the Thursday Only pass. After sticking the license back in the wallet, he read the name on the Quest Con badge. Of course, instead of using his real name, his brother requested to be called Sir Barley the Bold. Ian rolled his eyes at the dramatic name Barley used in his Quests of Yore campaigns. He glanced at his watch and to his dismay, only 30 minutes had passed. He sighed, clearly annoyed. That’s when some creatures in cosplay waved at him to get his attention. Ian walked over, and waved nervously.

“Hey guys, can I help you?” The cosplayers looked at him excitedly. Finally, the satyr dressed as an archer spoke up.

“Are you Barley Lightfoot? THE Barley Lightfoot?” she asked.

“No, I’m his brother. Ian.” All three cosplayers looked at him weird. The elf then remembered that things weren’t exactly normal today. “Kidding. I’m totally Barley Lightfoot.” he said, hoping they’d buy it.

“Oh, well we were hoping you’d join our Quests of Yore campaign. With your knowledge and expertise we shall finally complete our quest!” the cyclops dressed as a wizard explained. Ian winced. He knew next to nothing about his big brother’s obsession. But how was he going to get these nerds to understand that that was the case. His brother had earned the Quest Master title for a reason. If he attempted to join their game, he could ruin Barley’s respected reputation. “You know, I would love to, guys, but I don’t feel like playing right now, exactly. So I’m gonna have to pass.”  
“Are you sure you’re Barley Lightfoot? I’ve never known him to turn down anything that has to do with Quests of Yore.” the troll dressed as a warrior questioned. “If you don’t want to play with us, just say so. You don’t have to make something up to spare our feelings.” The wizard jumped in. “Sorry if we’re not good enough for you to hang out with, oh mighty one.” he said sarcastically.

“Look guys, I’m sorry, really. But I’m just not...myself today. I can’t do what you’re asking of me. Sorry.”

“If you’re not here to play Quests of Yore, why did you even come?” the archer asked him. What was Ian supposed to tell them? That his brother and he switched places? That the Quest Master they were looking for was actually at New Mushroomton High School? That they simply had the wrong guy? “Come on, you guys. He’s too good to join our game.” the nerds walked off. Ian almost went after them, but decided it was best not to. He hoped Barley would forgive him for possibly causing a rift between him and the gaming community. He decided to go to Artist Alley and get a commission done for his brother. Maybe then, he wouldn’t be too mad.


End file.
